Prothesis Having a Coating and Systems and Methods of Making the Same

Abstract

Implantable medical devices such as stents, methods of making medical devices, and systems for making medical devices are disclosed herein. In one exemplary embodiment, medical device includes a stent that is coated at least on a portion of one surface by an ink-jet device.

1 - 24 . (canceled) 
   
   
       25 . A prosthesis coating system comprising:
 a coating applicator in proximity to the prosthesis, whereby droplets of a material from the coating applicator can coat at least a portion of the prosthesis;   an optical micrometer configured to measure material being deposited on the prosthesis by the coating applicator to provide real-time material thickness measurements, wherein the prosthesis is positioned between a transmitter and a receiver in the optical micrometer; and   a processing unit coupled to the coating applicator and the optical micrometer wherein the coating applicator includes a multipoint source of nozzles adapted to apply the materials to selected portions of the prosthesis on-the-fly directed by the processing unit.   
   
   
       26 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the coating applicator includes an ink-jet device chosen from at least one of: piezo ink-jet, thermal inkjet, acoustic drop ejection, electrostatic inkjet, and combinations thereof. 
   
   
       27 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the coating applicator further comprises a plurality of ink-jet devices,
 wherein a first ink-jet device is positioned to coat a first surface of the prosthesis with a first material, and   wherein a second ink-jet device is positioned to coat a second surface of the prosthesis.   
   
   
       28 . The system of  claim 27 ,
 wherein the first ink-jet device is positioned to coat an outside surface of the prosthesis with a first material, and   wherein the second ink-jet device is positioned to coat an inside surface of the prosthesis with a second material.   
   
   
       29 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the coating applicator is adapted to coat the prosthesis with a variable thickness based on the number of droplets of the material deposited per square area. 
   
   
       30 . The system of  25  wherein the coating applicator is adapted to use droplets of different volumes. 
   
   
       31 . The system of  25  wherein the coating applicator is adapted to allow more than one material to be deposited on the prosthesis in precise positions. 
   
   
       32 . The system of  claim 25  wherein the coating applicator further comprises multiple dispensers and wherein different materials can be interlaced to achieve a desired concentration of a drug. 
   
   
       33 . The system of  claim 32  wherein a concentration of the drug is gradual from one part of the prosthesis to another part of the prosthesis. 
   
   
       34 . The system of  claim 33  wherein a concentration gradient of the drug varies in at least one of a radial, axial, or circumferential direction on the prosthesis. 
   
   
       35 . The system of  claim 32  wherein the coating applicator is adapted to apply the different material in an uncontaminated form. 
   
   
       36 . The system of  claim 25  wherein the coating applicator is configured to account for a groove on the prosthesis to have a set boundary which prevents material applied in the groove while still wet from application from advancing or spreading out over the surface of the prosthesis. 
   
   
       37 . The system of  claim 25  wherein the optical micrometer is adapted to detect at least one capillary grove on the prosthesis and the coating applicator is adapted to apply the material to the at least one capillary grove. 
   
   
       38 . The system of  claim 25  wherein the coating applicator is adapted to leave areas of spatial variation in strain during deployment of the prosthesis uncoated. 
   
   
       39 . The system of  claim 25 , further comprising a detector coupled to the processing unit, the detector adapted to determine whether a target as a desired location on the prosthesis has been located. 
   
   
       40 . The system of  claim 39  wherein the detector is further adapted to determine a set of points on a coordinate table for the desired location of the prosthesis. 
   
   
       41 . The system of  40  wherein the coordinate table is created from computer-assisted design. 
   
   
       42 . The system of  39  wherein the detector is and further adapted to provide signals to the coating applicator that are stored in the coordinate table. 
   
   
       43 . The system of  claim 25  further comprising a chuck configured to hold the prosthesis to allow the prosthesis to be rotated about an axis to establish a baseline reference prior to application of the material by the coating applicator. 
   
   
       44 . The system of  claim 25  wherein the optical micrometer is adapted to wait for volatile solvents in the material to be evaporated off before a measurement of final coating thickness is made. 
   
   
       45 . The system of  claim 44  wherein the evaporation of the solvents is facilitated by at least one of heating the prosthesis, using a high-vapor-pressure solvent in the material, and keeping the relative humidity of the solvent in the material low.